Travel Tuesdays: Ten Things to See, Do, or Eat in Downtown Seattle

Happy Tuesday, everyone!  Last week, we spent a few days in Seattle with my niece, Jennalyn & her dad.  We went to celebrate her 8th grade promotion and her 14th Birthday.  Lucky girl.  We didn’t rent a car so we stayed in the downtown area and walked to pretty much all the places we went.   Other than the annoying guy in Starbucks gloating about his Seahawks when he found out we were from the Bay Area, I had a great time (and had to kindly remind him that the Niners have 5 championships, the Giants have 3 recent ones, and oh yea, we just won another Warriors championship that I’m sure he just found out about :))

Anyways…

Here is a List of Ten Things to Do, See or Eat in Downtown Seattle:

1.  Visit Pike Place Market – This was probably my favorite part of downtown Seattle.  Pike Place has so much to offer and I could’ve spent the whole day there.  There are beautiful, colorful flowers for sale everywhere, every kind of fruit or vegetable, fresh seafood to eat (we ate fresh salmon sashimi & house made poke – yum!), the famous fish throwing guys, and local arts & crafts to buy.

2.  Take a Photo with the Gum Wall – Not gonna lie, the wall was pretty gross to look at, but if you want a photo (other than the Space Needle) that says you’ve been to Seattle, the Gum Wall would be it.  In the midst of Pike Place in the Post Street Alley, you’ll find this little gem.  And don’t forget to leave your mark or a bubbalicious one!

3.  Eat Beecher’s Mac & Cheese (or their Grilled Cheese, or any of the cheese in general!) – For all you queso lovers out there, Beecher’s is the perfect little place:  fresh, quick & tasty!  Lines here move fast, they offer delicious food, they have a counter where you can eat your cheesy goodness while watching the cheese makers work their magic & they have an entire tray of cheese curds & samples for you to try.  Perfection!

4.  Visit the Very First Starbucks – It’s a pit stop amongst all the other great shops in the area, but we stopped here because this is the one that started America’s coffee craze.  Crazy enough, I only waited in line to buy a mug & tumbler that I will, most likely, use for tea since I don’t drink coffee.

5.  Have some Piroshky, Piroshky… – Long lines, but worth the wait!   Piroshky’s are delicious Russian pastries usually meat, vegetable or sweet.  You could also order online and skip the lines if you really want your food faster.  These are a perfect mobile meal to have while walking through the market as well.

6.  Do a Coffee Tasting & Have some ‘Serious Pie’ – Because Seattle is home to Starbucks, they offer much more for coffee lovers to do.  We walked to the Starbucks Reserve Roastery & Tasting Room where you can see how they roast their coffee beans and even do coffee tastings!  Our favorite part of the Starbucks Reserve is that they have an awesome pizza place inside called Serious Pie.  We tried the mixed green salad and proscuitto with egg & arugula pizza which was amazing and for dessert, we went over to the baked goods section of the Roastery and had their biscuits which were to die for (and they were made at Dahlia Bakery :))!

7.   Enjoy the Views of the Space Needle & From the Space Needle  – Yes, this is very touristy, but you can’t beat the view from the top.  We bought tickets the night before and went the next day and surpassed the lines :).  You can also purchase tickets earlier or later in the day for a discounted rate.  We also took the monorail from the Westlake Mall near our hotel that takes you directly to the Space Needle for a couple of bucks (cash only & discounts for military & students).  Near the Space Needle you will also find the Chihuly Glass Museum & Garden which looked cool but didn’t go (They also have package deals for the Space Needle & Chihuly Gardens together).

 

 

 

8.  Do the Underground Tour – Seattle was built underground and it’s cool to see all the passageways and former stores, banks, etc.   Take the underground tour (~75 mins.) to brush up on your history of the city. (Discounts were given for Military & Students)

9.  Eat Like a Local  – Whenever we travel, we like to talk to the locals to figure out where they like to eat.  We tried Trove, an awesome Korean BBQ restaurant, that also has a separate area to try noodles as well as a separate bar.  They also have amazing and unique parfaits served in mason jars that you can take home as well as a separate window where you can order just dessert, GENIUS!  Another place we tried was a restaurant we spotted while on the Underground Tour, Kraken Congee.  We saw an episode on an MSNBC TV show called Restaurant Start up and recognized the name of the restaurant.  We checked it out and low and behold, they actually started up their restaurant.  Food was yummy and desserts are on point, but besides that, the chef came over and talked to us and was very genuine.

 

 

  

Pork Belly Adobo Bun, Duck Confit Congee, Ube Cheesecake and Guava Cheesecake

10.  Walk and enjoy the Art of the Emerald City  – Seattle is a beautiful city and there is so much art to be seen when walking around and it’s everywhere.  Enjoy!

 

 

   

Thanks, Seattle!  These two definitely had a lot of fun!